Dear Readers,
I depart from my usual answering of your questions in this column in order to speak to you about a recent letter that Bishop Earl Fernandes sent to all the priests of the Diocese of Columbus.
Concerns about the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick were brought to the attention of the bishop. Every bishop has the responsibility of making sure that all the sacraments are properly administered for the good of the faithful and the integrity of the Catholic Church. The bishop wanted to address the concerns brought to him and to clarify the discipline of the administration of the sacrament of anointing. A similar directive had been sent to Columbus priests in 2006.
With Bishop Fernandes’ encouragement, I want to share with you the essential parts of the letter that the bishop wrote to the priests.
The bishop writes: “Grateful for your priestly service, I also wanted to address some issues that have been brought to my attention with respect to the administration of the sacraments. On February 3, 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued a document Gestis verbisque, which largely deals with the matter and the form of the sacraments. I encourage all of you to read it, and I remind you not to deviate from the prescribed matter and form of the sacraments, so that the risk of invalidity does not emerge.”
“I direct that every priest in the Diocese of Columbus is to faithfully adhere to the Code of Canon Law (CIC) and all liturgical instructions and rubrics issued by the Holy See, namely Pastoral Care of the Sick (PCS) and the General Introduction of Pastoral Care of the Sick (GIPCS), the Interdicasterial document Ecclesiae de mysterio (13 August 1997, art. 9), the Instruction on Prayers for Healing of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (14 September 2000), and the Doctrinal Note on the Minister of the Sacrament from the same Congregation (11 February 2005).
“All priests are to observe carefully the following directives and to avoid abuses. The directives are:
1. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick was instituted to give the sick person the graces to bear his or her burden in union with the suffering of Christ, both for one’s own salvation and for the good of the entire church.
2. Canon Law and the Ritual stipulate that the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is for those who, having reached the age of reason, are in danger of death, whether as a result of illness or old age (c. 1004). Those who do not meet these criteria, such as infants, young children prior to the age of reason, and those who lack a serious illness that places them in danger of death, are not to receive the Sacrament of Anointing of the Sick. This includes even those who, though undergoing elective surgery, are not seriously ill. The administration of anesthesia does not constitute a grave illness.
3. The Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick may not be administered to persons who are not seriously ill. It is an abuse and, therefore, forbidden to administer this Sacrament indiscriminately to people who enjoy fairly good health, whether they request it or someone requests it for them. The aged and infirm may be anointed on account of the danger of death or the beginning of the danger of death.
4. As the PCS (53) asserts: ‘Some types of mental sickness are now classified as serious. Those who are judged to have a serious mental illness and now would be strengthened by the sacrament may be anointed. The anointing may be repeated in accordance with the conditions for other kinds of serious illness.’
5. It is not permissible to tell the faithful that they may receive the Sacrament simply if they feel they need healing, whether of body or mind or spirit. The Sacrament may not be administered broadly to all attending Masses of obligation, such as Sundays and Holy Days, such that virtually everyone in attendance is anointed. The appropriate sacraments for dealing with “interior woundedness” are the sacrament of penance and the Holy Eucharist.
6. Only a priest can validly administer the anointing of the sick (CIC c. 1003). Therefore, no deacons or lay persons may administer an anointing during the celebration of Anointing of the Sick, nor may deacons or lay person simulate the sacrament by the laying on of hands. In accord with Ecclesiae de mysterio (art. 9), ‘In using sacramentals, the non-ordained faithful should ensure that these are in no way regarded as sacraments whose administration is proper and exclusive to the Bishop and to the priest. Since they are not priests, in no instance may the non-ordained perform anointings either with the Oil of the Sick or any other oil.’
7. While it is permissible to celebrate the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick within Mass, these Masses are not to be referred to as so-called ‘healing Masses,’ particularly in light of the fact the Holy Eucharist is itself healing. Anointing within Mass is to be celebrated strictly according to the norms found in PCS, 131-134.
In particular:
a. priests are to ensure that those to be anointed have the opportunity to have their sins absolved in the Sacrament of Penance;
b. not all in attendance at Masses where the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick is celebrated are to be invited indiscriminately to be anointed but only those whose illness is of a serious nature and meet the requirements for reception of the sacrament;
c. all disciplinary norms concerning anointing are to be observed as well as norms for pastoral preparation and liturgical celebration (PCS 108);
d. ‘the practice of indiscriminately anointing numbers of people on these occasions simply because they are [non-gravely] ill or have reached an advanced age is to be avoided’ (PCS 108);
e. ‘only those whose health is seriously impaired by sickness or old age are proper subjects for the sacrament’ (PCS 108).
8. The Sacrament of Penance is required for the remission of the guilt (reatus culpae) of mortal sins that have not been previously remitted by valid absolution by a priest. The forgiving of sin in the Sacrament of Anointing refers primarily to the reatus poenae, the temporal punishment due to sin.
Only in the case of a Catholic who is gravely ill and unconscious, or is prevented by physical or moral circumstances, and is therefore unable to confess his sins, but who would have desired the sacraments (known as an interpretive intention), does the anointing carry with it the forgiveness of serious sins. However, should the person regain consciousness and a modicum of health, he is required to submit all mortal sins to the keys of the Sacrament of Penance.
9. An individual may be anointed more than once, even for the same severe illness as happens when the illness worsens or on account of the debilitations and further weakening of old age.”
Please direct any questions to me at [email protected]. I’ve already been asked about anointing before surgery and related questions. I will respond to them in my next column. Until then, God bless you!
